Connectors for use on flexible tape conductors



Jan. 23,1968 DQHARVEY ETAL I 3,365,695

CONNECTORS FOR USE ON FLEXIBLE TAPE CONDUGTORS F iled March 1, 1966 2Sheecs-Sheet 1 D. HARVEY ET AL 3,365,595

Jan. 23, 1968 CONNECTORS FOR USE ON FLEXIBLE TAPE CONDUGTORS 2Sheets-$heefv Filed March 1, 1966 United States Patent ()fiice 3,3 hfih5Patented Jan. 23, 1968 3,365,695 CGNNECTGRS FOR USE 6N FLEXIBLE TAPECGNDUCTGRS Douglas Harvey, Barton-on-Sea, New Milton, and Henry ArnoldWiiiiamson, Shirley Helms, near Lymington, Hampshire, England, assignorsto National Research Development Corporation, London, England Filed Mar.1, 1966, Ser. No. 530,887 11 Claims. (-33. 339-99) The invention relatesto connectors suitable for use in making connections to conductors ofthe type known as tape conductors which comprise a metallic tape ortapes sandwiched between tapes of insulating plastic material.

Normally when a connection is made to an insulated cable the cable hasto be terminated. The connection is then effected by stripping an endportion of the cable of its insulation and soldering, welding orcrimping a connector on to the cable. With tape conductors, however, themetallic tapes often lie less than 0.1 inch apart and are not readilyseparable because they all lie in a common insulator. Therefore, theabove-mentioned method of effecting connections is difficult.

One method of facilitating connections to tape conductors has beenproposed which involves the use of needles which are pushed one intoeach metallic tape to effect the connection. In this case, the tapeconductor does not have to be terminated or stripped. If theseconnections are used for some length of time, however, the holes made bythe needles may tend to become enlarged, especially if the conductor isdisturbed, and the connections tend to become faulty.

According to the present invention, there is provideda connector formaking electrical connections to a tape conductor of the type comprisinga metallic tape or tapes sandwiched or embedded in a plastic insulatingmedium and including a first mating member and a second mating membereach having a clamping portion for gripping the strip conductortherebetween, at least one conductor in the clamping portion of thefirst mating member, at least one metallic tooth formed in eachcontactor and clamping means for clamping the mating members together,the shape of the mating members being such that tightening f theclamping means pulls the tape conductor across each metallic tooth sothat it ploughs through the insulating medium to establish electricalcontact with a metallic tape.

According to a feature of the invention the said clamping portion of thefirst mating member has a plurality of contactors each having at leastone metallic tooth, each contactor being arranged for electrical contactwith a different metallic tape of the tape conductor. The contactors maybe insulated from each other and have terminals for electricalconnections to be made thereto.

According to another feature of the invention the clamping portion ofthe second mating member is faced with a resilient material or a softmetal. Preferably, however, this clamping portion of the second matingmember is faced with a spring or a plurality of springs. The spring mayconsist of a single plate touching the tape conductor throughout itswhole width. Alternatively, the plurality of springs may be positionedone opposite to each contactor of the clamping portion of the firstmating member.

According to a further feature of the invention each contactor has a rowof three metallic teeth. Each tooth is preferably shaped with a chiseledge so as to act on the insulating medium in a manner similar to theplane iron of a carpenters plough plane.

According to an even further feature of the invention the second matingmember includes a second clamping portion having a clamp plate, theclamp plate being adapted to clamp the tape conductor to the secondmating member.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first mating member is recessedopposite the clamping plate in the second, and between the recess andthe toothed clamping portion there is a projection. This projectioncorresponds with a depression in the second mating member and acts as atensioner of the tape conductor between the clamp plate and the toothedclamping portion. Thus when the two mating portions are clamped togetherthe tap conductor is pulled past the teeth while being pressed againstthem by the spring, so that the teeth plough into the local insulationof the tape conductor to contact the metallic tapes.

A connector in accordance with the invention will now be described byway of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a connector, for making separateconnections to nineteen metallic tapes embedded side by side across atape conductor.

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view of the connector shown in FIGURE 1 inan open configuration, and

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of the connector shown in FIGURE 1,in a closed con-figuration.

As shown in the drawings the connector has two mating members. These area first mating member in the form of a top plate 1 having a lower matingsurface In, and a second mating member in the form of a bottom plate 2having an upper mating surface 2a. The bottom plate 2 is formed with alongitudinal channel 3 to guide and position a tape conductor. The topplate 1 has a raised face 4- which mates in the channel 3 of the bottomplate 2. A clamp plate 5 fits onto the bottom plate 2, near one end, toclamp the conductor in position. The top plate 1 has, in its matingsurface 1a, a recess 6 which is shaped and positioned so that the clampplate 5 Will lie in the recess 6 when the two plates are mated. Near tothe other end of the top plate 1 there is a clamping portion fitted withan insulating block 7 carrying nineteen metallic contactors 8, insulatedfrom each other and from the top plate 1 in lateral spacingcorresponding to that of the metallic tapes in the tape conductor to beused. The contactors 3 protrude from the face 4 of the top plate 1 andthe lower edge of each is formed into three sharp teeth 9. The teeth 9are shaped and inclined so as to be able to plough into the conductor ifit is moved longitudinally from the end of the plate at which the teeth9 are situated towards the recess 6. A recess '10 is cut in the matingsurface 211 of the bottom plate 2 in a clamping portion opposite to thatof the top plate 1. The recess 10 accommodates a spring plate 11 havingnineteen spring projections 12 in lateral positions opposite to theteeth 9 when the two plates 1 and 2 are mated. The connector hastensioning means in the form of a projection 13 sited on the matingsurface In of the top plate 1 between the insulating block 7 and thegroove 6, and a mating tensioning depression 14 in a correspondingposition in the mating surface 2a of the bottom plate 2. Clamping meansin the form of four bolts 1-5 are used to clamp the two plates 1 and 2together.

The particular embodiment of the invention described with reference tothe drawings is for use with a tape conductor having nineteenlongitudinal metallic tapes, shown at 16. The method of use of theembodiment will now be described. The tape conductor is laid in thechannel 3 of the bottom plate 2 so that the portion of conductor 16 atwhich the connections are to be made is close to the spring projections12. The clamp plate 5 is fitted and bolted down onto the bottom plate 2to clamp the conductor 16. The top plate 1 is then laid over the bottomplate 2. The configuration of the parts is now as shown in FIGURE 2.When the two plates 1 and 2 are urged closer by tightening the bolts a15, the tensioning projection 13, by pushing the conductor 16 into thedepression 14, draws it inwards across the spring projection 12. Theteeth 9 contact the surface of the conductor 16 before the fully matedposition is reached, and further urging together of the top and bot tomplates causes the teeth 9 to plough into the still moving conductor 16,which isbeing pressed against the teeth 9 by the spring projections 12.When the connector is in the fully mated configuration, as shown inFIGURE 3, the teeth 9 have contacted the metallic tapes of the conductor16 and the spring projections 12 maintain good electrical contactbetween the two. Because of the resilience of the spring projections 12,the teeth 9 are prevented from biting into the metallic tapes.

The above described embodiment is particularly useful for makingconnections to a tape conductor without terminating it, although it isapplicable to terminated conductors. The drawings, however, show asingle part, con-' forming to the invention, of a possible doubleconnector suitable for joining two tape conductors which are terminated.Such a double connector may be symmetrical about the plane of the breakshown at the right hand end of the figures, and fixed connections may bemade between the two sets of contactors 8. The two tape conductors maythen be connected one to each part of the double connector, and thus beconnected together. This embodiment is very useful for re-establishingelectrical contact between broken tape cable. The double connectorcould, however, have a gap or a slot between its two clamp plates inwhich case it would be suitable for making connections between twocontinuous tape conductors.

It should be clearly understood that the above embodiments have beendescribed by way of example only,

and various other embodiments of the invention will now be obvious topersons skilled in the art. For instance, in place of the clamp plate 5the top plate 1 may be fitted 'with spring plate means for clamping theconductor in position. In the case of the single connector the platesmay have a detachable hinge at the clamp plate end instead of the boltsdescribed. Such a hinge could also be provided with the above-mentionedspring plate clamping means. The connector may have, in place of thesprings in the second mating member opposite to the metallic teeth, afacing of a material which is softer or more resilient than the metal ofthe metallic tapes but is harder or less resilient than the plasticinsulation of the strip.

We claim:

1. A connector for making electrical connections to a tape conductor ofthe type comprising a metallic tape or metallic tapes in a plasticinsulating medium, the said connector comprising a first mating memberand a second mating member each having a clamping portion for grippingthe tape conductor therebetween; at least one contactor in the clampingportion of the first mating memher; at least one metallic tooth formedin each contactor; first clamping means on one of said mating members,for clamping a conductor thereto; tensioning means, located between saidclamping portion and said first clamping means, for drawing theconductor past the said at least one tooth when the two mating membersare urged together; each metallic tooth having a cutting edge so that asthe conductor is drawn past a tooth the tooth ploughs through theinsulating medium to make unpenetrating contact with a metallic tape;and second clamping means for clamping the two mating members together.

2. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the clamping portion ofthe first mating member has a plurality of contactors each having atleast one metallic tooth, each contactor being arranged for electricalcontact with a different metallic tape of the tape conductor.

3. A connector as claimed in claim 2 and wherein the.

contactors are insulated from each other, and have terminals forelectrical connections to be made thereto.

4. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and wherein each contactor has arow of three metallic teeth.

5. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and including a resilient facing onthe clamping portion of the second mating member.

6. A connector as claimed in claim 5 and wherein the facing on theclamping portion of the second mating member comprises a separate springlocatedopposite each contactor of the clamping portion of the firstmating memher.

7. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said first clampingmeans is a clamp plate which is adapted to clamp the conductor to thesecond mating member.

8. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said tensioning meanscomprises a projectionfrom one mating member arranged to protrude into adepression in the other mating member.

9. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and comprising a first matingmember and a second mating member, a clamping portion of the firstmating member; a plurality of contactors insulated from each other insaid clamping portion and each arranged for electrical contact with adifferent tape of the conductor; a plurality of metallic teeth formed oneach contactor; a clamping portion of the second mating member locatedin a position such that when the two mating members are urged togetherthe conductor is gripped between the two clamping portions; a pluralityof springs on said clamping portion of the second mating member, eachspring facing the teeth of a contactor; a clamp plate for clamping theconductor to the second mating member; a projection from said firstmating member arranged to protrude into a depression in said secondmating member between said clamping por tions and said clamp plate; eachmetallic tooth having a cutting edge facing in a direction at leastpartially away from said projection so that as the conductor is drawnpast the teeth they plough through the insulating medium to make contactwith the metallic tapes; and clamping means for clamping the two matingmembers together.

10. A connector as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the first matingmember and the second mating member are extended, and their parts areduplicated so as to form a substantially symmetrical double connector.

11. A connector as claimed in claim It) and wherein each contactor inone clamping portion of the first mating MARVIN A. CHAMPION, PrimaryExaminer.

J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CONNECTOR FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS TO A TAPE CONDUCTOR OFTHE TYPE COMPRISING A METALLIC TAPE OR METALLIC TAPES IN A PLASTICINSULATING MEDIUM, THE SAID CONNECTOR COMPRISING A FIRST MATING MEMBERAND A SECOND MATING MEMBER EACH HAVING A CLAMPING PORTION FOR GRIPPINGTHE TAPE CONDUCTOR THEREBETWEEN; AT LEAST ONE CONTACTOR IN THE CLAMPINGPORTION OF THE FIRST MATING MEMBER; AT LEAST ONE METALLIC TOOTH FORMEDIN EACH CONTACTOR; FIRST CLAMPING MEANS ON ONE OF SAID MATING MEMBERS,FOR CLAMPING A CONDUCTOR THERETO; TENSIONING MEANS, CLAMPING BETWEENSAID CLAMPING PORTION AND SAID FIRST CLAMPING MEANS, FOR DRAWINGCONDUCTOR PAST THE SAID AT LEAST ONE TOOTH WHEN THE TWO MATING MEMBERSARE URGED TOGETHER; EACH METALLIC TOOTH HAVING A CUTTING EDGE SO THAT ASTHE CONDUCTOR IS DRAWN PAST A TOOTH THE TOOTH PLOUGHS THROUGH THEINSULATING MEDIUM TO MAKE UNPENETRATING CONTACT WITH A METALLIC TAPE;AND SECOND CLAMPING MEANS FOR CLAMPING THE TWO MATING MEMBERS TOGETHER.